Sign



P'. H. MINER.

SIGN. APPLICATION FILED lULY -2h192l.

Patented MayBO, 1922,

- ziwuanl oz SIGN.

Application filed July 21,

To all 10760772735 may concern Be it known that 1, PAUL Hinnnnrrr Minna, citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful, Improvements in Signs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in advertising signs, and more particularly to signs of the type involving moving display characters.

A primary object of the invention is to provide an attractive and effective advertis ing device in the form of a sign involving reading matter in which only certain letters, symbols or the like, as a whole'or in part, are adapted to move in such a mannor that the movement or shifting of the individual character will have the optical effect of causing the movement of the stationary words, letters or entire line of reading matter. While it has heretofore been proposed to move all of the individual and juxtaposed letters, symbols, or the like in an advertising sign, it is pointed out that the present invention is directed particularly to the feature of having only certain of the letters, symbols or the like or parts thereof move while the others remain stationary, thereby producing an entirely new and distinctive effect which differs from cases where all of the letters or their equivalent move and to cause a complete change of position or otherwise affect the composi tion of the word or phrase.

.iccordingly, the present invention proposes to provide a sign that may be readily and economically constructed to embody the features referred to, and which when in operation will readily attract the observers eve and create a distinctive impression. In this connection it is proposed to provide a that will. be equally attractive by day or bynight, with the aid of suitable illumination.

lVith the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the na ture of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts here inafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical illustration is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1922..

1921. Serial no. 485.5539.

7 shown in the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 is an elevation 'ofa sign constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2+2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating the change in position of cer .tain of the letters while others remain stationary.

Figure 4- is an elevation of a sign wherein parts of the individual lettersare adapted to move.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the parts of certain of the letters in their changed positions.

Figures 6 and 7 are detail views illustrating modifications of the combination of fixed and movable characters.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying-the present invention into effect it is proposed to provide a suitable signboard having the desired. reading or advertising matter painted or otherwise inscribed thereon, with certain of the letters, figures or other symbols making up the reading matter being mounted to individually shift 01' move to eflect a change in position.

That is to say, the present improvement involves as one of its novel and distinctive features the combination of fixed and relatively movable symbols or characters which, by reason of their individual movement will have the effect of causing the word or line of words to move.

To that end the signboard 1 may have painted or mounted thereon any number of fixed letters symbols, or other characters 2 which may compose a word for use alone or in combination with other words as a descriptive phrase or slogan. Adjacent to the fixed or stationary letters 2 are located the movable letters 3 mounted in any suitable convenient manner in the 'signboard to 1'0- tate as shown in Figures 1. and 2, or otherwise move or shift as suggested in Figures 6 and 7.

The said movable letters 3 may be arranged in guides 4: of convenient type in the signboard, and may be actuated or moved by any suitable mechanism as for example that shown in Figure 2 wherein the rotatable letter 3 is provided with a pulley 5 operated by belt 6 driven by a motor 7. Obviously where two or more movable letters are used, a common motion producing mechanism may be utilized to drive all of such letters by any well known mechanical expedient. In the case of rotary letters it is not essential that they be connected to rotate in unison or in the same direction, as it is obviously within the scope of the present improvement for one of the letters to rotate in a clockwise direction and the other in a counter-clockwise direction with the same facility that they may rotate in a common direction. In each and every embodimentof the improvement the essential and distinctive characteristic is, that a novel combination and optical effect results by mounting the fixed and movable characters 2 and 3 in juxtaposition to produce the appearance of the moving characters causing the stationary characters to also move.

A further embodiment of the combination of movable and fixed word-signs or characters is illustrated in Figures 4: and 5 of the drawings wherein the signboard 1 has painted or otherwise placed thereon a word in which a part only of certain letters move or shift while the remaining part of the let ters remain stationary. As will be observed frominspection of the figures referred to, the letters 2 are stationary characters but in the case of the letters S and P the upper one-half of each letter is arranged to move asindicated at 3,'thereby to produce, at intervals of rotation of the parts of the letters the effect shown in Figure 5, as will be readily understood. Qbviously, the rotation of the disks 3 carrying the movable parts 3 of the letters 2 may be operated in any suitable and convenient manner and at different points in their cycle of rotation will 'form' odd and unique characters which will attract and impress the eye of the most casual observer.

In each of the above described forms of execution of the invention an animated sign unit is provided. the same consisting of a plurality of sign or character parts in which one ofthe parts remains stationary while the other shifts or moves to produce the animated efi'ect. Obviously, a sign unit may "consist of a word in which certain of the letters or characters remain stationary while others shift,'or it may consist of a single character having a movable or shiftable par which will produce the same result.

As further illustrating the range and scope of application of the present improvement Figures 6 and 7 respectively show reciproeating and. oscillating characters'in c0mbinationto produce the desired novel effect.

In the case of reciprocating characters in Figure 6 the desired reciprocation may be brought about by the use of a crank mechanism C and in the case of the oscillating characters in Figure 7 a suitable pendulum device or its equivalent D may be utilized. From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present improvement is directed particularly to an animated form of sign which comprises moving readable charactors in combination with stationary characters constituting an intelligible and nee essary part of the advertising matter, and while only certain forms of embodiment have been shown herein, it will clearly-be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reading sign, comprisingcharacters,

certain digits only of which are adapted for continuous movement.

2. In a sign, the combination of a fixed reading character and a movable reading character adapted to effect a changed position to produce the optical effect of causing the fixed character to also move, and means for continuously moving the said movable character. y

3. In a sign, a legible sign'board having an animated reading; sign unit consisting of fixed and movable letters or numerals, and means for imparting continuous motion to the movable element.

4-. In a sign, a legible board having an animated reading sign unit consisting of a plurality off-reading characters and means for shifting certain of said reading charactel-s whileothers remain stationary.

5. In a sign consisting of words of reading matter, the combination, in the word components of the sign. of fixed and rela tively movable characters, and means causing the latter to continuously effect a change in position to produce the optical efi'ect'of causing the fixed characters to also move.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two wltnesses.

IPAUL union-urn Mnvnn. Witne'rsses IV: D. BURBANK', LILLIAN M. STUDLEY.

the scope of 

